Consumer Leading; Delay of Compliance Date

Following a review under the Board's Regulatory Planning and Review Program, the Board published a revised Regulation M, which implements the Consumer Leasing Act on October 7, 1996. The final rule contains a significant number of substantive revisions to the regulation. It essentially establishes a new disclosure scheme that should substantially improve consumer understanding of automobile transactions. The new disclosure scheme required the preparation of new forms and the reprogramming of computer software. Mandatory compliance with the revised rule was to begin on October 1, 1997. The Board is delaying that compliance date until January 1, 1998, to facilitate compliance with the regulation and to ensure that consumers receive accurate and meaningful disclosures.